After Breakfast, we leave the road for the wild south in our vehicle. Our driver will take you to the High Atlas Mountains, which form the border between the liveliest, most populous Morocco and the quietest, most traditional.
We cross this mountain range via the Tizi n'Tichka pass, and the aridity of the environment becomes more apparent as we descend, punctuated from time to time by palm-fringed oases. Next to one of these is the spectacular ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified village that seems to have come straight out of fiction. In fact, it has been chosen as the setting for scenes from films such as
Babel or series such as Game of Thrones
Getting to know it from inside and out will help us understand its importance centuries ago, when the trade caravans linking Marrakech and Timbuktu passed mainly through here.
Our route won't take us very far, but it will enable us to enjoy the valley that opens up before our eyes shortly afterwards: the Dades Valley, one of the most fertile in the region thanks to the lush wetlands that spring up on the banks of this river. In one of the valley's picturesque villages, we'll spend the night in a charming riad, where dinner is also included.